There’s drama fit for daytime TV at two notable Dallas restaurants. A few chefs and a notable bartender have been spinning in and out of the front doors at a dizzying rate. The afternoon my Chesterfield review ran I heard that Michael Ehlert, the chef responsible for the lackluster cooking…
It’s a bit tiresome to hear a critic gripe about all the food they’re forced to eat. (There are worse ways to make a living.) After reviewing near back-to-back Southern comfort restaurants, though, I felt pretty pummeled with fat and meat. I needed a break. While interviewing an Italian chef…
“Fucking bullshit,” a man in a perfectly starched shirt muttered as he walked out of the Londoner in Uptown yesterday, apparently unpleased with his afternoon. Manchester United had choked against Manchester City, coughing up a chance to cinch the Premiership. But what’s bad for Man U is good for casual…
Last week I had to interview another local food writer for an upcoming project. He suggested we meet at Union Bear and I jumped on it. It was a warm, sunny day, and I remembered their killer indoor/outdoor bar. Sitting outside with the sun at my back and a cool…
More festivals this weekend. The 6th Annual Real Texas Festival kicks off today. I wasn’t around for it last year, but Nick Rallo was and he gave the event a ringing endorsement. There are worse ways to spend your time than sampling barbecue from entrants chasing a $500 grand champion…
Last week the Dallas Morning News tallied the votes and crowned its burger king. Angry Dog, the Deep Ellum grease pit with a loyal following, beat out Mooyah Burger, the Dallas-based burger chain built on double-meat patties and french fries with a cooking process you need an engineering degree to…
When I reviewed the Chesterfield, and wrote about drinks the color of Skittles, I was referring to those bight blue drinks you see bopping around inside clubs. Red drinks, too, a vibrant crimson, often containing little alcohol and sometimes shuttled around in test tubes. What I wasn’t thinking about was…
I first encountered Velvet Hammer at Eno’s. I was wrapping up “research” for an upcoming review and wanted to unwind in Oak Cliff. If you haven’t had the chance to drink beer with Jake Reck, the super-bearded bartender who’s often working the upstairs bar, you should — Reck knows his…
The Deep Ellum Brewing Company continues to build out its presence in the Dallas neighborhood known for its iconic pizza and old-school tattoos. Tonight they’ll host their first weeknight brewery tour, which will continue every Thursday from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. To court potential customers (as if the beer…
Eater dug up a scoop on Uptown’s Top Chef destination, Private Social. A post on the restaurant’s Facebook page hints at expansion plans, asking applicants to send in their resumes. Chef Tiffany Derry has yet to release any details on what she’s planning on doing with her expanded staff, but…
The North Texas Beer Festival is coming to that far- off convention center in Las Colinas. More than 200 beers will be available for tasting, organizers say, and 50 brewers will be featured at the event, including large-market brewers Samuel Adams, New Belgium and Magic Hat, and smaller breweries like…
“You can always judge the quality of a cook or restaurant by roast chicken,” Julia Child once wrote. I’m not sure if she was the first to utter those words, but they have been hers ever since. They’re words I happen to believe in. I’ve devoted too much time to…
Back in February, McDonald’s announced it was through with gestation-crated pork products. We feared for McRib sandwiches, Sausage McMuffins and everything topped with bacon, so we called Paul Shapiro, a spokesman for the Humane Society, to talk out the impact of the move. Shapiro called the event an earthquake in…
When the folks behind Bolsa announced that Jeff Harris and Matt Balke would be joining their team to replace Graham Dodds, and that Bolsa Mercado would be opening just down the street, I was excited. Maybe too excited. Harris told me he’d be making all of his deli meats in-house,…
Late last week, Kevin McKeand, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Tabbedout, called me, prompted not just by the a story published here two weeks ago but by an announcement: the mobile application that allows patrons to open and close tabs at bars and restaurants is now available at…
Potato skins really got a bad wrap. While the history of this iconic bar food is as debatable as the Genesis of buffalo chicken wings or the origins of the Reuben sandwich, it’s impossible to deny the popularity of T.G.I.Friday’s spin on the dish. It’s a shame because their potato…
Offering mussels on a menu is a lot like offering a burger. You see both everywhere, and each is highly dependent on the primary ingredient. Mussels are especially finicky — they’re only as good as they are tonight, and tomorrow they may be a complete disappointment in the same dining…
While City Hall continues to make food trucks jump through hoops, and restaurants in Deep Ellum complain about unfair competition, someone finally figured out what to do with the city’s mobile meal makers: throw them a party. This weekend Ginger Man invited food trucks to come park in its lot…
Gloomy out there Dallas. Not just the clouds in the sky, either. Michael Martensen’s tweet about Dallas’ vapid drinks looms over Dallas’ cocktail scene. Maybe the guy just needs another drink? I could use one. But let’s take a look at the Dallas food news scene from this week before…
My recent investigation into the endless cycle of queso enjoyment promoted a question in the comments. After I described a bubbling plate of molten cheese primi timpano asked: A little surprised at the bubbling cheese as I thought cheese heated to these temperatures would result in broken proteins. Does Velveeta…
Earlier this week the Wall Street Journal published an article noting the increased demand for chicken legs at grocery stores. The story claims that shoppers have been driven by TV cooking shows that celebrate dark meat’s richer flavor and softer texture. Finally, people have realized: It tastes better. This is…
OK. It’s your first day at work at some random French cafe. You’ve never waited tables before, but you aced the interview and somehow convinced the manager that you were ready for the big time. Your first table is seated. It’s a four-top. Old ladies lunching. And after they place…
